Today we're in Monte Carlo, the playground of the rich and famous! Monte Carlo is part of Monaco, surrounded by France. Monaco is 2 square meters with a population of about 36,000, the second smallest country in the world after Vatican City. Their government structure is a constitutional monarchy run by the Grimaldi family, the oldest ruling house in Europe. On our tour we we walked through a beautiful garden to Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée, a New Gothic cathedral where most of the Grimaldis are burred. The original entrance of this cathedral faced east like normal cathedral but it was moved when the cathedral expanded. This is also the final resting spot of Princess Grace. We know her as Grace Kelly.
Monte Carlo is also the home of the world famous Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious motor races in the world and part of the Triple Crown. This is one of the most demanding races in the Formula One. The elevation changes, tight turns and tunnels also make this the slowest, most dangerous race.
This is where things get good:
Casino de Monte Carlo is THE must see in Monaco. We walked from the port for what seemed like forever and a half to get there. It was originally built to save the Grimaldi family from bankruptcy. You can probably guess how that turned out! We were told that there was a €10 entry fee and we weren't planning to go in but we had to gamble a little while we were here so we went to Casino Café de Paris, the casino next door. I wasn't going to gamble much but I thought a players card from another country would be cool to have so I signed up for one. The attendant told me I could go to the "famous" casino for free now that I had a players card. SCORE! I played a little bit at Casino Café de Paris then I went off to explore what the big boys do around here. After dropping my back pack off at the bag check I went to the door attendant, handed him my card and nervously waited for conformation to cross over into the main room. It was almost ceremonious. There I was at Casino de Monte Carlo, with barely any money in my pockets! That was anticlimactic. The main floor is absolutely gorgeous with huge vaulted ceilings. There isn't much there though, just a bar, a few slots, table games and a lot of empty space. While exploring I came across another door in the back. I'm pretty sure that's where the rest of the casino was, the door that all of the high rollers go through. I walked past the attendant and got a peek through the door way, I couldn't see much. I awkwardly walked past the door a few times, contemplating going through but I wasn't dressed for the occasion and I felt out of place, which is weird... Me? Out of place? In a casino? I also didn't want to risk getting rejected at the door so I didn't push my luck and try to go in. In hindsight I should have tried to go through the rest of the Casino. I don't think I'm ever going to get that chance again. Ugh! Hindsight is always 20/20.
I went back to Casino Café de Paris and played a little more. At the end of the day I ended up winning a little bit of money. Not enough to write home about.
What an adventure!
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Europe: Day 3 (Toulon, France) - A Little History, Another Street Market and a Whimsical Musical
Today was a short day. We went on a driving tour around Toulon. I've never been on a driving tour so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Toulon is a port town, founded under Roman rule. It was designed by Baron Haussmann,who Napoleon later enlisted to carry our a massive public works project to unify Paris, commonly referred to as Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Currently the city has a population of about 170,000. One of the things I remember the most is the citizens work a 35 hour work week. This city is also the home of Mt. Faron, a 600 meter high mountain.
On our own time we went back out to the town and wondered around Cours Lafayette, a diverse street market that spans several blocks. Locals and tourists shop here daily. It's suggested that you come here early as the market only goes until 1pm and there's so much to see. It's easy to lose track of time here, there's always something else around the corner. We also stopped at the stores and found many outdoor cafe's that look just like the cafe's in the movies!
After dinner we went to see a musical in the main theater, Soundscape- An Operatic Fantasy. It was a whimsical musical mashup with classic opera and rock n' roll songs and stunning visual effects. The cast on this ship is small but each performer has a very dynamic range.
On our own time we went back out to the town and wondered around Cours Lafayette, a diverse street market that spans several blocks. Locals and tourists shop here daily. It's suggested that you come here early as the market only goes until 1pm and there's so much to see. It's easy to lose track of time here, there's always something else around the corner. We also stopped at the stores and found many outdoor cafe's that look just like the cafe's in the movies!
After dinner we went to see a musical in the main theater, Soundscape- An Operatic Fantasy. It was a whimsical musical mashup with classic opera and rock n' roll songs and stunning visual effects. The cast on this ship is small but each performer has a very dynamic range.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Europe: Day 2 (Barcelona, Spain) - More Food, Cathedrals and La Boqueria
Today my sister and I unintentionally woke up at 4:30am!!! The rest of our group wasn't up yet and I didn't think anything on the ship was open at that time so we ordered room service. I ordered a salad and mac and cheese and worked on my blog for a while. When we met up with our group we had breakfast again!
We headed out to the buses for a driving tour around Barcelona. This place is beautiful and the architecture is amazing! We drove around Olympic Park, Christopher Colombus Square, Picasso Street, and Plaça Catalunya. While on the excursion we learned a few things. Barcelona is separated into 10 districts, we were in Katalonia, They have 2 national languages, Catalan and Spanish. Rome had ruled Barcelona for 429 years. Factories are no longer permitted in Barcelona but there are still chimneys around from when there were factories. Barcelona also hosted the 1992 Olympics.
After the bus tour we headed for Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in the Gothic Quarter. This is the oldest part of Barcelona and streets are small and closed off to most traffic. This is the most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen! The main basilica is surrounded by 9 chapels . Our guide showed us the collection of coat of arms around the choir stalls and it's supposed to be the most prestigious collection to date. Afterwards we headed out and explored the area on our own. I was surprised to see a lot of the same stores that we have back home. We even found a Disney Store and had to go in!
After lunch we took a shuttle back out and explored La Rambla right outside of the Gothic District. This place is full of culture and art. We also found La Boqueria, one of the most notable markets in Europe. The atmosphere was fun and it had a certain charm about it. There were numerous vendor stalls, each one different from the next. I thought it was cool how there bars and restaurant stalls next to butcher stalls and bakery stalls. This has been one of the best finds of the trip.
We headed out to the buses for a driving tour around Barcelona. This place is beautiful and the architecture is amazing! We drove around Olympic Park, Christopher Colombus Square, Picasso Street, and Plaça Catalunya. While on the excursion we learned a few things. Barcelona is separated into 10 districts, we were in Katalonia, They have 2 national languages, Catalan and Spanish. Rome had ruled Barcelona for 429 years. Factories are no longer permitted in Barcelona but there are still chimneys around from when there were factories. Barcelona also hosted the 1992 Olympics.
After the bus tour we headed for Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in the Gothic Quarter. This is the oldest part of Barcelona and streets are small and closed off to most traffic. This is the most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen! The main basilica is surrounded by 9 chapels . Our guide showed us the collection of coat of arms around the choir stalls and it's supposed to be the most prestigious collection to date. Afterwards we headed out and explored the area on our own. I was surprised to see a lot of the same stores that we have back home. We even found a Disney Store and had to go in!
After lunch we took a shuttle back out and explored La Rambla right outside of the Gothic District. This place is full of culture and art. We also found La Boqueria, one of the most notable markets in Europe. The atmosphere was fun and it had a certain charm about it. There were numerous vendor stalls, each one different from the next. I thought it was cool how there bars and restaurant stalls next to butcher stalls and bakery stalls. This has been one of the best finds of the trip.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Europe: Day 1 (Barcelona, Spain) - Dogs, Cross Airport Marathon and Lots of Food
In case you guys were curious, I'm sitting in a cruise ship cabin in Barcelona!
Today was one of the longest travel days I've ever had and we met a few unexpected friends along the way... Therapy dogs! On the way to LAX a passenger in the seats across from us was traveling with a therapy dog. He was very well behaved and listened to instructions well. The dog traveled great too!
Some PUP's (Pets Un-stressing Passengers) were also wondering around the airport. We were able to interact with these dogs. We met JJ, Sergio and their humans. They had trading cards too!
We landed in Terminal 8 at LAX and had to get to the Tom Bradly International Terminal on the other side of the airport. This airport is huge! We walked for what seemed like an eternity following an never ending sequence of signs and arrows. I wasn't sure we were going to make it on time but we did and had time for a little shopping too.
The next leg of our trip takes us to Frankfurt, Germany. On the way I binge watched a whole season of Big Bang Theory and didn't sleep much. I'm starting to fall in love with that show again. For dinner we had salmon with a horseradish sauce over rice with spinach. The vegetarian option was a pasta with pesto and marinara sauce. They also served us hash browns, scrambled eggs and spinach for breakfast before we left the plane. Because of the time of our flight we got dinner before breakfast.
Our last plane ride was Frankfurt to Barcelona. Then we had a 30 min bus ride to the port.
We checked into our rooms but our luggage wasn't there yet so we headed out for food. On our way out we got sidetracked by a Port Talk presentation where we learned about the activities and excursions for tomorrow. We actually left in the middle of the presentation for the dining room because we were so hungry and tired. We finally got food!!!
Our luggage was probably back by this time so we went back to our rooms to unpack and settle in. Then my Sister and I went to explore. We found the buffet and ate even more. We haven't on this ship very long and we're already eating everything we find! This is not looking good for my girlish figure.
Today was one of the longest travel days I've ever had and we met a few unexpected friends along the way... Therapy dogs! On the way to LAX a passenger in the seats across from us was traveling with a therapy dog. He was very well behaved and listened to instructions well. The dog traveled great too!
Some PUP's (Pets Un-stressing Passengers) were also wondering around the airport. We were able to interact with these dogs. We met JJ, Sergio and their humans. They had trading cards too!
We landed in Terminal 8 at LAX and had to get to the Tom Bradly International Terminal on the other side of the airport. This airport is huge! We walked for what seemed like an eternity following an never ending sequence of signs and arrows. I wasn't sure we were going to make it on time but we did and had time for a little shopping too.
The next leg of our trip takes us to Frankfurt, Germany. On the way I binge watched a whole season of Big Bang Theory and didn't sleep much. I'm starting to fall in love with that show again. For dinner we had salmon with a horseradish sauce over rice with spinach. The vegetarian option was a pasta with pesto and marinara sauce. They also served us hash browns, scrambled eggs and spinach for breakfast before we left the plane. Because of the time of our flight we got dinner before breakfast.
Our last plane ride was Frankfurt to Barcelona. Then we had a 30 min bus ride to the port.
We checked into our rooms but our luggage wasn't there yet so we headed out for food. On our way out we got sidetracked by a Port Talk presentation where we learned about the activities and excursions for tomorrow. We actually left in the middle of the presentation for the dining room because we were so hungry and tired. We finally got food!!!
Our luggage was probably back by this time so we went back to our rooms to unpack and settle in. Then my Sister and I went to explore. We found the buffet and ate even more. We haven't on this ship very long and we're already eating everything we find! This is not looking good for my girlish figure.
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